BOTSWANA’S opposition party Umbrella Democratic Change (UDC)’s election victory has charmed former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa, who responded by hailing the neighbouring country’s smooth transition of power.
In his congratulatory message, Chamisa, who has failed to defeat President Emmerson Mnangagwa twice, described outgoing Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s decision to concede defeat as exceptional maturity.
“Fellow citizens, I am so overjoyed and happy to get the good news and I have since sent a congratulatory message to President Masisi, congratulating him for the job well done for exceptional maturity and allowing the smooth transition of power and that transfer of authority in Botswana,” he said.
Chamisa has been keeping his cards close to his chest on his next political move after having lost CCC to self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.
The October 30 election saw Botswana Democratic Party candidate Masisi going to the booth against three challengers, including Duma Boko, Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party and Mephato Reatile from the Botswana Patriotic Front.
Boko, a 54-year-old lawyer, was running for the third time as leader of the UDC, which came second in the 2019 election and remained the ruling Botswana Democratic Party’s biggest challenge.
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Boko’s UDC got 36 parliamentary seats, Saleshando’s Botswana Congress Party managed 14, Reatile’s Botswana Patriotic Front five, with Masisi’s BDP coming last with four seats.
The Botswana electoral system is such that a party should pass the 31-seat threshold needed to secure a majority in Parliament, if its leader is to become President
In the run-up to the October 30 elections, Boko and former President Ian Khama accused Zanu PF of meddling in its electoral affairs.
This election marks a significant milestone in Botswana’s democratic history, with international observers attributing the election as a peaceful transition of power.
Masisi’s party has been in power for almost six decades until the recent defeat by Boko.
He said as presidential candidate, he had accepted defeat.
“I promise to do my part to build a strong country from within and to work with the new administration to ensure that every citizen has opportunities at their fingertips. I look forward to attending the inauguration,” Masisi said.